In many sport and adventuresome events, such as motorcycle riding, it is prudent to wear an abrasive resistant outer garment for protection in case of spills. When being ridden, a motorcycle provides very little protection to the cyclist while being very susceptible to actions which separate the cyclist from the motorcycle at high speed, either through collision with an object or other vehicle, a momentary loss of balance or an abrupt change in speed or direction of travel due to sudden changes in the terrain. When a cyclist is thrown or jumps free from a motorcycle during times of emergency, the severity of injuries sustained can be reduced substantially if the cyclist's body is not subject to tearing injuries due to the glancing impacts with the fuel tank and handle bars of the motorcycle, burn injuries caused by vaporized fuel generated by the impact and skin injuries caused by abrasive sliding contact between the cyclist and the ground.
As sport cyclists have become more safety minded, they, like racers, have desired protective jackets and pants constructed from leather or leather-like materials. This is because leather garments are soft enough to be comfortable and to allow unrestrictive movement while protecting the wearer against cold and wet weather, and high speed spills. Unfortunately, for many, motorcycling is a summer activity in weather conditions of high heat and humidity. Leather garments, being relatively non-porous, act to retain the metabolic heat of a body. The heat retention makes "leathers" extremely uncomfortable, and causes the wearer to discard them on hot days, thereby increasing the risk of serious injury.
In the past, many attempts have been made to provide protective leathers which are ventilated to provide some cooling to a motorcyclist. For example, air passages or spacers are provided in garments shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,213,465, 3,296,626 and 3,045,243. Other garments have provided ventilating slits to allow hot air to escape from inside a protective garment such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,153,793. In other cases mesh panels such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,761,962 or openable mesh panels such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,451 have been provided. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,269 fixed, forwardly facing air scoops are provided on a hard protective glove to ventilate the hands of a cyclist. These features notwithstanding, a satisfactory protective garment which can provide the cooling equivalent of bare skin at speeds as slow as 5 miles an hour is desirable, so that the sport of motorcycling can be enjoyed safely during hot and humid summer months. It also is desirable that the protective garment be versatile enough to be used during periods of less heat and humidity.